The present invention relates to a fuel injector.
German Patent No. 195 34 445 describes a fuel injector. The fuel injector described in this document has a valve body in which a valve needle is coaxially guided. The valve body has a connection piece through which fuel is supplied to the fuel injector. The valve needle is provided with a central borehole. On the injection side the valve needle forms a seal seat with the valve body. The fuel is supplied to the seal seat via the central borehole of the valve needle. On the outside the valve needle is sealed with respect to the surrounding valve body. A piezoelectric actuator acts upon the valve needle via a pressure shoulder. The pressure shoulder is permanently connected to the valve needle and is tightly guided on the valve body on the inlet side. This protects the actuator against the effect of the fuel pressure. The conventional fuel injector has the following disadvantages:
Because the valve needle is permanently connected to the pressure shoulder, the valve needle on the injection side and the pressure shoulder on the inlet side are sealingly and movably guided in the valve body, therefore manufacturing is relatively complicated and the valve needle of the fuel injector is subject to bending and stresses and the relative positions of the two sliding surfaces are subject to modification.
Because the pressure shoulder, i.e., the valve needle is movably guided with respect to the valve body, the sealing surface is wetted with fuel and, due to the high fuel pressure, the fuel may flow toward the actuator. Thus the actuator is only protected against the effect of the fuel pressure but not against the effect of the fuel. Due to the seal between the pressure shoulder, i.e., the valve needle and valve body, friction losses occur when the fuel injector is actuated. This negatively affects the shapability of the fuel jet further, the switching times of the injector are increased, the actuator power is less efficiently utilized, and fuel injector wear is increased. In particular, the seal at the sealing surfaces between the pressure shoulder, i.e., the valve needle and the valve body deteriorates during operation.
Since the central borehole in the valve needle is a part of a fuel line extending from the fuel inlet connection piece to the seal seat, the manufacture of the valve needle is complicated and the fuel injector is subject to dirt deposits, in particular on its seal seat-side end.
The fuel injector according to the present invention has the advantage over conventional fuel injectors of a simple, more cost-effective, low-wear, friction-free and considerably more compact design. Furthermore, the seal is independent of the design of the valve needle and can therefore be integrated into a plurality of fuel injectors.
In addition, the actuator sealed with respect to the fuel in this manner can be integrated using the seal, without major structural changes, both into an inward-opening and an outward-opening fuel injector. In addition, the actuator is protected by the seal both against the effect of the fuel and the effect of the fuel pressure.
The actuator jackets advantageously have an undulated or pleated design. This allows a large actuator stroke in the actuator housing in a compact construction. The actuator is advantageously prestressed by the actuator jacket. Additional components such as, for example, compression springs are not needed. A heat-conducting material, for example a heat-conducting paste, is advantageously provided between the actuator jacket and the actuator. This allows the energy generated by the actuation of the actuator and dissipated in the actuator to be conducted away from the actuator on the heat-conducting material and to the actuator housing. The heat load on the actuator is thus reduced and the service life of the fuel injector is extended.
The seal advantageously has a tubular sleeve that traverses the cutout of the actuator and is at least partially surrounded by the actuator. Thus, the inside of the tubular sleeve is sealed with respect to the actuator and therefore can be traversed by fuel.
The seal advantageously has a seal seat-side gasket that is connected to the actuator jacket and/or to the sleeve. Thus, the actuator can act upon the devices of the fuel injector and/or be supported by them via the seal seat-side gasket. In addition, the seal seat-side gasket can be designed like the inlet-side gasket which facilitates the manufacture of the seal.
The gaskets advantageously have a pot-shaped design whereby devices of the fuel injector can be accommodated within the gaskets. In addition, the gaskets can thereby be more easily guided in a guide.
Each gasket advantageously has a cutout that is traversed by the sleeve. The sleeve is bent back on at least one gasket and widened, and is connected to the gasket at its end facing away from the respective other gasket, allowing a large actuator stroke in the actuator housing.
At least one of the gaskets advantageously has a pot-shaped design and an end zone of the gasket projects over the bent-back zone of the sleeve, protecting the bent-back zone of the sleeve.
The inlet-side gasket advantageously has at least one supply channel through which at least one electrical lead is run to the actuator, allowing the electrical lead to enter the seal in a simple manner.
The supply channel is advantageously sealed with respect to the fuel, thus integrating the seal of the electrical lead with respect to the fuel into the gasket, making an additional seal is unnecessary and resulting in a more compact design.
The sleeve is advantageously part of a fuel line extending from the fuel inlet connection piece to the seal seat. This simplifies the fuel line in particular for an end-mounted fuel connection piece. In addition, no additional fuel line is needed, resulting in fewer components.